Great Job..Ireland..

From Peter Taggart, For CNN updated 9:10 AM EDT, Sat April 28, 2012 NEW: A local government minister blames dissident IRA groups for the attempted attack The abandoned van contained two large barrels of homemade explosives and a detonator Police: "Anyone within 50 meters of this device would have been killed" It was left near the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland Belfast, Northern Ireland (CNN) -- An abandoned van containing a device with 600 pounds of explosives was found in Newry, Northern Ireland, near the border with the Republic of Ireland, police said Saturday. The device, believed to be linked to dissident IRA groups opposed to the peace process, was "fully primed and ready for use," police said. The bomb, found late Thursday, was one of the biggest found in Northern Ireland, police said. It could have caused "death and massive destruction" had it gone off, Chief Superintendent Alasdair Robinson told reporters in Ardmore. "The device contained two blue barrels with 125kg of homemade explosives in each one, and a detonator -- all the equipment which meant this device was ready to go," he said. "This was a very significant device -- twice the size of the bomb which was left at Newry Courthouse two years ago. If this had exploded it would have caused devastation. "To put it in perspective, anyone within 50 meters of this device would have been killed and anyone within 100 meters, seriously injured." The road leading to the border was closed within minutes after officers became aware of the suspicious vehicle, he said. A member of public raised the alert after driving past the abandoned van, he said. Robinson said it was too early to speculate on the intended target of the bomb, which was made safe late Friday. Asked about the threat from dissident groups, he said this was the third attempted attack in the Newry area over the past few weeks, but that all three had been dealt with. A lawmaker for the area, Northern Ireland government minister Danny Kennedy, said there was no doubt dissident IRA groups were behind the Newry device. He added: "Clearly this was an attempt to lure police into the area with potentially fatal consequences. My fear is unless these dissidents are dealt with they have huge potential to cause death and destruction."